South Korean Launch For The LG Watch Urbane LTE

The LG Watch Urbane LTE was given a a price tag of 650,000 won or $589 when it will be launched in South Korea. The new smartwatch of the South Korean manufacturer is capable of making and receiving phone calls without using a smartphone. It is also capable of sending and receiving text messages and making push-to-talk calls with other devices using the same network.

The new smartwatch of LG also has the capability of making mobile payments through near-field communication. Since it comes with a universal SIM card, it will use a 4G LTE network in making calls.

The functionality of earlier smartwatch models were limited since they have to be connected to a smartphone for a number of phone-related tasks. Due to this, it would be necessary for a smartwatch owner to purchase a smartphone in order to take advantage of all the benefits offered by the smartwatch. It is also necessary for the two devices to be compatible with each other.

For instance, Android Wear smartwatches can be used with Android devices. However, the LG Watch Urbane LTE does away with this dependence on smartphones.

LG Watch Urbane LTE - image credit: phonearena.com

It is still possible to link the new smartwatch of LG with a smartphone for some functions. The device uses the LG version of the WebOS, which was acquired by the South Korean company in 2013 from Hewlett-Packard. The same OS is also used in a number of smart TVs and mobile devices. The WebOS of LG is compatible with the Android 4.4 OS.

The LG Watch Urbane LTE comes with a 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor from Qualcomm and a 1.3-inch plastic-organic LED. LG indicated that the metal body of the smartwatch is scratch and corrosion resistant. It remains uncertain when the new LG smartwatch will enter the US market since the global launch of the device will be determined by its sales in South Korea.

On the other hand, the LTE-less LG Watch Urbane is expected to be released in the US market and will be included in the product lineup of AT&T. This particular smartwatch will require a smartphone in making and receiving phone calls.

LG has yet to release an official statement in connection to any US release of the LG Watch Urbane LTE.

Posted by Melanie Mendoza on Sunday March 29 2015, 9:54 PM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Shopping. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0